Winter Classic 5

[Fire0nIce228 1]

Washington/Tampa would be a horrible choice in my opinion. I mean, honestly, outside of those who are passionate about hockey, who knows and/or cares about the hockey team in Tampa Bay? Nobody whom this game is intended to draw in to watch (casual observers, people getting preped for the college bowl games, new years parties) is going to care if they hear about that game or see it in their TV guide on new years day.

[Chadd 916]

Washington/Tampa would be a horrible choice in my opinion. I mean, honestly, outside of those who are passionate about hockey, who knows and/or cares about the hockey team in Tampa Bay? Nobody whom this game is intended to draw in to watch (casual observers, people getting preped for the college bowl games, new years parties) is going to care if they hear about that game or see it in their TV guide on new years day.

It's not about the teams. Philly and Boston both have long traditions and deep fan bases and the ratings were down this year. Just like nobody in the country cares about a basketball team in Cleveland, they care about the star on the roster. Tampa has a number of "name" players and it would be better for the NHL to develop some of the other names than to continue going back to the same well over and over again.

[RiSeOnFiRe 0]

Buffalo is not much more of a popular pick than Tampa. Sure they love they're hockey but that's a pretty small market. In these types of games you want some star power. Stamkos, St.Louis, Vinny... And anyone who has seen a Tampa/Washington game knows it would be entertaining as hell. Ovechkin the reigning premier sniper vs Stamkos the young gun or something.

I have to agree with JR et all. Pitts/Wash is a horrible choice. Sure the ratings will be phenomenal but the real hockey fans are sick of it. I love every time these two teams play, but I don't know if i can handle the WHOLE Winter Classic being a Sid/OV love fest. Id love to see Doughty and Johnson get some air time, or Perron and Oshie. The NHL should have held onto this match up for 5-7 years if you ask me.

Washington/Tampa would be a horrible choice in my opinion. I mean, honestly, outside of those who are passionate about hockey, who knows and/or cares about the hockey team in Tampa Bay? Nobody whom this game is intended to draw in to watch (casual observers, people getting preped for the college bowl games, new years parties) is going to care if they hear about that game or see it in their TV guide on new years day.

[Chadd 916]

Buffalo is not much more of a popular pick than Tampa. Sure they love they're hockey but that's a pretty small market.

Buffalo is one of the top TV markets for the NHL. In fact, Pittsburgh and Buffalo are the top two local TV markets. That's why they were picked for the first winter classic.

[Trooper 8]

You are missing the point, you don't choose teams for this based on what players you hope to market, you choose teams based on what players will get people to watch and then hopefully the sport will benefit from it. AO and Sid make perfect sense. They ARE the advertising for the game. Nobody is going to watch because of Stamkos. You don't develop stars in one game. This is nothing but an injection in the arm to get things going.

[furlanitalia 1]

I think we get that point, just would like to see some other players showcased. I also feel that this is just a cop out for the league. They don't really have to do much marketing other than plaster sid and ovi's faces everywhere.

[Fire0nIce228 1]

I have to agree with JR et all. Pitts/Wash is a horrible choice. Sure the ratings will be phenomenal but the real hockey fans are sick of it.

That is what it is all about. The 'real' hockey fans will tune in and watch simply because its the winter classic, and the hope is everyone else will tune in because its Sid/Ovie and they're not sick of it, its the only names they recognize. I'm sorry, Stamkos, Lecavalier, those are not big names. Nowhere near as big as Sid/Ovie to the casual observer. Doughty, Perron, Oshie, in terms of big names/star power, they're even worse choices to have in the game because of what the NHL is trying to achieve, and that is views, ratings, and most importantly, money.

[chippa13 1844]

You are missing the point, you don't choose teams for this based on what players you hope to market, you choose teams based on what players will get people to watch and then hopefully the sport will benefit from it. AO and Sid make perfect sense. They ARE the advertising for the game. Nobody is going to watch because of Stamkos. You don't develop stars in one game. This is nothing but an injection in the arm to get things going.

Sure, today because he is still an unknown but that doesn't have to be the case 9 months from now. But look, if you've got Washington in the game then you've got your Ovechkin star power and with some marketing of Stamkos you'll have something. The idea is not to simply capitalize on the knowns right now but to create more around the league so that the NHL as a whole can grow.

[Chadd 916]

You are missing the point, you don't choose teams for this based on what players you hope to market, you choose teams based on what players will get people to watch and then hopefully the sport will benefit from it. AO and Sid make perfect sense. They ARE the advertising for the game. Nobody is going to watch because of Stamkos. You don't develop stars in one game. This is nothing but an injection in the arm to get things going.

You have six months from the time the game is announced to build interest in the players and teams. This year we learned that marketing the event alone was not enough, that "name" players were needed. This is a good opportunity to use one of the "big two" to develop interest in the other teams and players. There are compelling stories and personalities beyond Sid and Alex and the NHL would be better served to develop interest in them. While nobody may watch the game because of Stamkos, they would watch because of Ovechkin and the Caps. Then they may find out that this Stamkos kid is pretty damned good too and worth keeping an eye on.

By staging the Caps and Pens (again) at the winter classic, it reinforces the belief that these are the only teams worth watching. The NBA ran into the same problems in the 80s when nobody watched unless it was the Celtics and Lakers. Later, it was the same thing with Jordan.

It's the difference between picking the low hanging fruit and trying to use the game to market the league.

[furlanitalia 1]

Exactly. They know we'll watch regardless of who is there. And regardless of whether or not the players we want to see are there or not. It's those that don't know who doughty, and perron are that they need to convince to watch.

[Big Jim 1]

Buffalo is one of the top TV markets for the NHL. In fact, Pittsburgh and Buffalo are the top two local TV markets. That's why they were picked for the first winter classic.

Last time I looked at the Nielsen ratings Buffalo was ranked 1 and Pitt 2. And Buffalo had like twice as many(at least) viewers as #2 Pittsburgh.

Personally I think they should have a double triple header in Buffalo. For a few different reasons- First of all in Buffalo they play at Rich(Rahlp Wilson I know) Stadium. A football stadium. Holds more people and offers a way better view of the ice/playing surface. The weather- it's almost guaranteed to snow in Buffalo at that time of year. It's proximity- Buffalo is in the hockey hotbed. It's close enough to Toronto, Montreal, Pitt, Wash, Boston, etc, that people will travel there to see their team play.

For these reasons I think they should do it again there. Do a triple header... Buffalo vs Toronto(can you say epic game?) Montreal vs Boston and Washington vs. Pitt.

Hell, I would be down for them having a few different games at different venues in the winter. Doing it more than once a year is bound to get some more NHL fans.

[Trooper 8]

You have six months from the time the game is announced to build interest in the players and teams. This year we learned that marketing the event alone was not enough, that "name" players were needed. This is a good opportunity to use one of the "big two" to develop interest in the other teams and players. There are compelling stories and personalities beyond Sid and Alex and the NHL would be better served to develop interest in them. While nobody may watch the game because of Stamkos, they would watch because of Ovechkin and the Caps. Then they may find out that this Stamkos kid is pretty damned good too and worth keeping an eye on.

By staging the Caps and Pens (again) at the winter classic, it reinforces the belief that these are the only teams worth watching. The NBA ran into the same problems in the 80s when nobody watched unless it was the Celtics and Lakers. Later, it was the same thing with Jordan.

It's the difference between picking the low hanging fruit and trying to use the game to market the league.

I agree it would be nice, but seeing what you've seen the past few years, how good is the NHL at developing the public personas of its athletes? It's been ESPN and other major networks that in their infantecimile (sp?) amount of hockey coverage dedicate most of it to Sid and AO. So I would argue this success isn't even due to the NHL's competency.

Again, I don't think this game does much to market the league or the players. It's a blip on the radar that draws attention to the NHL and in the long run the success is still going to be in the hands of the league. And this includes not getting more coverage for screwing up discipline than for positive aspects of the game.

As someone pointed out, it's not about what "real hockey fans" want, it's about luring in the rest of the public, even for a few hours.

[chippa13 1844]

That is exactly why the next game should be the Caps vs. some team with a young rising star. Ovechkin will draw in the viewers and folks will learn more about Stamkos or whomever. You want to create more household names. That is one reason why the NFL always has a different team play Dallas on Thanksgiving, to create that national name recognition of other teams.

[technophile 0]

Sure, today because he is still an unknown but that doesn't have to be the case 9 months from now. But look, if you've got Washington in the game then you've got your Ovechkin star power and with some marketing of Stamkos you'll have something. The idea is not to simply capitalize on the knowns right now but to create more around the league so that the NHL as a whole can grow.

Exactly -- with either Ovechkin or Crosby in the game, you've got that big name draw already. With both of them, I doubt you get much of a marginal improvement in how many non-core fans watch the game, so you might as well pull in some other marquee (but unknown outside of hockey core fans) players like Stamkos. Use your existing well-known players to help market the other great players. That way when a non-fan who watched the WC because of Ovechkin or Crosby sees a Lightning game, or a Blues game, or whatever, maybe they remember watching the WC and tune in. That's growing the brand, not flogging the same two names into the ground.

[ReggieDunlop 3]

Why don't they just make the Outdoor Classic the All-Star Game - that way it market all teams!!!

[Chadd 916]

Why don't they just make the Outdoor Classic the All-Star Game - that way it market all teams!!!

The all star game is usually pretty lame and not a good representation of the sport.

[furlanitalia 1]

That's why I said earlier I wasn't going to be a fan of an outdoor all star game. Washington - Tampa is still my vote. Like it was said earlier, Ovechkin would draw the crowd, and Tampa would be exposed to new fans. They can't keep revolving the league around these two teams. It's almost to the point where I wouldn't be surprised if they moved Pittsburgh into the western conference just so the two could meet in the Stanley cup finals.

[cptjeff 0]

The all star game is usually pretty lame and not a good representation of the sport.

And this way, they have two big events they can use to work over their sponsors rather then one. Which means more money for the NHL and more seats left open for fans.

[Bnatural 0]

I think a Colorado/Minnesota, or Washington/NYR would be great.

[skyscrape 5]

I know this is slightly against the whole have it where pond hockey is played thing, but something different would not be bad!

Sharks vs Coyotes They should do something unique and crazy and have it somewhere where it would be unexpected.

Our rink burnt down and apparently they are turning it into a seasonal outdoor rink in Sacramento California!

[The Mafia Line 0]

It's so obvious what the league is doing and Chadd hit it on the head a few pages back. This whole Larry Bird v. Magic Johnson (Crosby, Ovechkin)thing might get a few fans to tune into those games, but what about games that don't involve Crosby or Ovechkin. I'm sure Bettman will peddle this matchup more, now that there wasn't a Pens Caps series in the playoffs.

As a Ranger fan I really wanted an NYR Caps game, but after reading your opinions, the whole Stamkos Ovechkin thing isn't bad. It would have the star player to get the non fans but it would also introduce them to a GREAT emerging talent. On a side note, it's only been 1 1/2 good seasons but this kid is starting to look sick, especially on the the PP. It would be sick to seem him take over an outdoor game.

[BobbyD9 0]

Is the old Yankee stadium still up? If so they could have it there. Maybe the Met's new Stadium.

No, just the exterior wall of the 1st base side of the stadium.

No, and the Met's new stadium is pretty much falling apart already.

I was there 2 weeks ago and it was pretty sweet. Sightlines are not great though and probably worse for hockey.

It's so obvious what the league is doing and Chadd hit it on the head a few pages back. This whole Larry Bird v. Magic Johnson (Crosby, Ovechkin)thing might get a few fans to tune into those games, but what about games that don't involve Crosby or Ovechkin. I'm sure Bettman will peddle this matchup more, now that there wasn't a Pens Caps series in the playoffs.

As a Ranger fan I really wanted an NYR Caps game, but after reading your opinions, the whole Stamkos Ovechkin thing isn't bad. It would have the star player to get the non fans but it would also introduce them to a GREAT emerging talent. On a side note, it's only been 1 1/2 good seasons but this kid is starting to look sick, especially on the the PP. It would be sick to seem him take over an outdoor game.

I am totally sick of seeing crosby vs. ovechkin. Let's see the rest of the league. There are so many great players that are not getting the benefit of the league's pr.

It is sad that the Islanders approached Bettman about an outdoor Islanders vs. Rangers game to celebrate one the great rivalries in the NHL back in 2005. He has taken the concept and stiff-armed the Islanders and Rangers. NY Daily News article quoting Chris Botta (VP of communications for the Isles at the time)

[tro 4]

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=322828

Sid vs Ovie, I mean Pitt vs Caps, NBC is going to hype the Sid vs Ovie to levels we have not seen, Pierre is going to loose his mind.

Calgary vs Montreal

The Pittsburgh Penguins will host the Washington Capitals at Heinz Field on New Years day, while the Montreal Canadiens will travel to Calgary sometime in February to face the Flames at McMahon Stadium.

[Captain Sane 2]

You guys are all forgetting that the biggest and best outdoor hockey game is going to happen in December in Ann Arbor. Honestly, I know it's mostly a regional thing, but I think the game at Michigan Stadium will do more for hockey than the Winter Classic in 2011. Unfortunately it'll be on Big 10 Network so not everyone will get to see it, but I bet the buzz it will generate will get more people watching hockey than Sid-Ovi

[Chadd 916]

You guys are all forgetting that the biggest and best outdoor hockey game is going to happen in December in Ann Arbor. Honestly, I know it's mostly a regional thing, but I think the game at Michigan Stadium will do more for hockey than the Winter Classic in 2011. Unfortunately it'll be on Big 10 Network so not everyone will get to see it, but I bet the buzz it will generate will get more people watching hockey than Sid-Ovi

You are right about one thing, it is a regional thing. You may get some people from Wisconsin or Minnesota watching, but it will not have the national appeal, or audience, of the NHL games.